Mill Spring, NC – May 21, 2022 – The first edition of 2022 Saturday Night Lights presented by Tryon Horse & Home at Tryon International Equestrian Center & Resort (TIEC) featured the $30,000 Cleghorn Gun Club Grand Prix, with Todd Minikus (Lake Worth, FL) and Amex Z taking top honors after their 34.747-second jump-off performance. In second, Martien van der Hoeven (Pinehurst, TX) and Morris Horta, the 2012 Belgian Warmblood gelding (Eldorado van de Zeshoek x Irenice Horta) owned by Luccirelli International, LLC, cleared the short course in 37.233 seconds, while Daniel “Dany” Michan (Mexico City, MX) rode Champion League, his own 2012 Hanoverian stallion (Cador x Carisma), to a time of 37.496 to complete the podium.
Minikus and the 2009 Warmblood mare (Andiamo Z x Senne) owned by the Bit By Bit Group navigated the Catsy Cruz (MEX) course design with natural speed, Minikus recapped. “Amex is a veteran partner for me at this point. She hasn’t shown in almost two months, so she jumped real fresh and was just super in the jump off. She couldn’t have been better!”
When Amex Z stepped into the ring, van der Hoeven’s leading time of 37.233 seconds had been holding fast throughout the twelve-horse jump off. “I was in the schooling area watching and I really couldn’t tell how fast [Martien went]. But Amex is maybe one of the fastest horses in the world, I think. I tried not to overdo it; she was very handy back to the combination and once she did that so well, I thought that I was ahead at that point.”
Minikus also got a chance to tour the course with a new horse, which proved to be a learning experience for the new partnership. “To tell you the truth, I made a mistake on [Graf Compliment]. I was unsure, and it’s my first week showing him, so I was bummed a little bit by the decisions that I made on that horse.”
An experienced pair in Tryon Stadium and throughout the country, Minikus and Amez will be back to contest future competitions under the lights, but it felt good to kick off the iconic series with a win, he shared.
“It’s fun to be back in Tryon. The crowd was great, as usual!” Minikus concluded, “I hope we win every single one of them [this season]! You know, it’ll get more competitive as the FEI classes come into town, and we’re not going to scratch; we’ll be here. And that’s the thing about this sport – it’s easy to have a jump down – this week it’s your turn, and next week it’s somebody else’s turn. It’s a humbling sport, that’s why we run the classes!”
For full results from the $30,000 Cleghorn Gun Club Grand Prix, click here.
Source: press release
Photos: ©Natalie Suto Photography for TIEC